Awkward moment Robert Peston tells Keir Starmer '80% didn't vote for you'

The Prime Minister was facing questions from journalists in a first press conference after an inaugural Cabinet meeting.

By Mieka Smiles, News Reporter

13:49, Sat, Jul 6, 2024 | UPDATED: 15:21, Sat, Jul 6, 2024

Starmer grilled on governing for those who didn't vote for him

New Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced a barrage of tricky questions from journalists in his first press conference.

ITV's Robert Peston asked Sir Keir how he would lead the country when "80 percent of British voters didn’t vote for you" including those who didn't cast a vote.

Mr Peston said: "You said yesterday your priority would be to govern for those who didn’t vote for you - some 80 percent of British voters didn’t vote for you - that’s including those who didn’t vote at all.

"What does that mean in practice in a sense for the culture of the Government and how you'll govern."

Sir Keir Starmer answered: "It was very important to me to say what I said on the steps yesterday about those that didn't vote for us because we're a Governement of service to all people whether they voted for us or not.

ITV's Robert Peston asked new Prime Minister Keir Starmer how he will govern the country

ITV's Robert Peston asked new Prime Minister Keir Starmer how he will govern the country (Image: ITV)

New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Holds First Press Conference

Keir Starmer has held his very first press conference as Prime Minister (Image: Getty)

"And I include within that people who voted for Labour for the first time on Thursday because across the country in many places people will have voted for Labour for the first time perhaps having never voted Labour before."

The PM said he was "restless for change" but warned that changing the country "is not an overnight exercise".

After sweeping to a landslide victory at the polls, Sir Keir said his party had received "a mandate to do politics differently".

He said: "This will be a politics and a Government that is about delivery, is about service. Self-interest is yesterday's politics."

Sir Keir also said: "We clearly on Thursday got a mandate from all four nations.

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"For the first time in 20-plus years, we have a majority in England, in Scotland and in Wales. And that is a clear mandate to govern for all four corners of the United Kingdom."

Standing in front of a gathering of journalists, Sir Keir also set out plans to travel on Sunday to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, before returning to England.

Sir Keir also said that behind the scenes he and his team have been working hard to put things in place so they could "hit the ground running".

He added: "But look, it is not an overnight exercise changing the country."

Sir Keir also detailed his cabinet meeting at the press conference.

He said: "At that meeting, I had the opportunity to set out to my Cabinet precisely what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery and the trust that the country has put in them."

Sir Keir flies to Washington DC for the Nato gathering next week. There he is expected to discuss support for Ukraine.

He told the news conference: "It is for me to be absolutely clear that the first duty of my Government is security and defence, to make clear our unshakable support of Nato.

"And of course to reiterate, as I did to President Zelensky yesterday, the support that we will have in this country and with our allies towards Ukraine."